Wednesday, January 14, 2009

This Little Piggy …

By David Hylton, Public Relations Specialist

Some pigs go to market, some pigs stay home … but in Uganda, some pigs are changing the life of one woman and her family.

Thanks to Christian Children’s Fund livelihood programs, Milly’s life has changed for the better following the death of her husband in 2003. When he died she was unemployed and left with eight children to raise.

A year after her husband’s death, a meeting was held in her Ugandan village to tell residents that CCF was looking for people to train in farming. CCF Uganda staff visited the village soon after the meeting to register people in the program.

“We were immediately enrolled for a one-week course on gardening and farming,” Milly said. “Before the training, I used to rear a few pigs at home. I would tied them on a rope and take them to the garden to feed. Now I have given them shelter because I am equipped with knowledge on how to look after them in the right way.”

At the end of the training, CCF gave Milly a pair of piglets – male and female – to help her start a piggery business. Today she is an accomplished community piggery farmer, and she has started other income-generating activities such as poultry and banana farming. And because of this business, she is able to afford to send her children to school. Her children also participate in the family business.